Three Kingdoms: The Empty Fort · chapter 1 of 3
Bad News at Xicheng
坏消息
A rider brings terrible news: a huge army is marching on Xicheng, and Zhuge Liang has only old soldiers and a very strange plan.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 诸葛亮住在西城。城里只有几个老兵，他们都很老了。
Zhūgě Liàng zhù zài Xīchéng. Chéng lǐ zhǐ yǒu jǐ gè lǎobīng, tāmen dōu hěn lǎo le.
Zhuge Liang was staying in the town of Xicheng. Only a few old soldiers were with him, and they were all very old.
- Scout 先生，不好了！马谡输了，街亭也没有了！
Xiānsheng, bù hǎo le! Mǎ Sù shū le, Jiētíng yě méiyǒu le!
Sir, terrible news! Ma Su has lost, and Jieting is gone!
- Zhuge Liang 别着急，慢慢说。我在听。
Bié zháojí, mànmàn shuō. Wǒ zài tīng.
Don't rush. Tell it slowly. I'm listening.
- Scout 马谡没有听您的话，他把兵放在山上，所以输了！
Mǎ Sù méiyǒu tīng nín de huà, tā bǎ bīng fàng zài shān shàng, suǒyǐ shū le!
Ma Su didn't listen to you. He put his soldiers up on the mountain, and so he lost!
- Zhuge Liang 马谡……我说过很多次，要小心啊。
Mǎ Sù… wǒ shuō guo hěn duō cì, yào xiǎoxīn a.
Ma Su… I told him many times to be careful.
- Scout 现在司马懿带着很多很多人，正往西城来！
Xiànzài Sīmǎ Yì dài zhe hěn duō hěn duō rén, zhèng wǎng Xīchéng lái!
Now Sima Yi is coming to Xicheng with a huge, huge army!
- Zhuge Liang 他们有多少人？什么时候到？
Tāmen yǒu duōshao rén? Shénme shíhou dào?
How many men do they have? When will they arrive?
- Scout 多得数不清！明天早上就到了！
Duō de shǔ bù qīng! Míngtiān zǎoshang jiù dào le!
Too many to count! They'll be here tomorrow morning!
- Old Chen 先生，我们只有几个老兵，这要怎么打仗？
Xiānsheng, wǒmen zhǐ yǒu jǐ gè lǎobīng, zhè yào zěnme dǎzhàng?
Sir, we only have a few old soldiers. How are we supposed to fight?
- Old Chen 我今年六十五岁了，腿也不太好，我跑不快！
Wǒ jīnnián liùshíwǔ suì le, tuǐ yě bú tài hǎo, wǒ pǎo bú kuài!
I'm sixty-five this year, my legs aren't good, and I can't run fast!
- Zhuge Liang 老陈，你别怕。我问你，你会扫地吗？
Lǎo Chén, nǐ bié pà. Wǒ wèn nǐ, nǐ huì sǎodì ma?
Old Chen, don't be afraid. Let me ask you, can you sweep a road?
- Old Chen 扫地？会是会，可是现在要打仗啊！
Sǎodì? Huì shì huì, kěshì xiànzài yào dǎzhàng a!
Sweep? Well, I can, but we're about to go to war!
- Zhuge Liang 你们去城门口，把路扫得干干净净。
Nǐmen qù chéngmén kǒu, bǎ lù sǎo de gānganjìngjìng.
All of you go to the gate and sweep the road until it's spotless.
- Zhuge Liang 还有，把城里所有的旗都放下来，别让人看见。
Hái yǒu, bǎ chéng lǐ suǒyǒu de qí dōu fàng xiàlái, bié ràng rén kànjiàn.
And take down every flag in town, so nobody can see them.
- Old Chen 旗放下来？那城门呢？我们把它关好，对吗？
Qí fàng xiàlái? Nà chéngmén ne? Wǒmen bǎ tā guān hǎo, duì ma?
Flags down? And the gate? We shut it tight, right?
- Zhuge Liang 不对。城门不关，我们要把它全部打开。
Bú duì. Chéngmén bù guān, wǒmen yào bǎ tā quánbù dǎkāi.
Wrong. We won't shut the gate. We'll open it all the way.
- Old Chen 打开城门？那司马懿不是可以走进来了吗？
Dǎkāi chéngmén? Nà Sīmǎ Yì bú shì kěyǐ zǒu jìnlái le ma?
Open the gate? Then Sima Yi can just walk in, can't he?
- Zhuge Liang 让他来看吧。我们一点儿也不怕，他会觉得奇怪的。
Ràng tā lái kàn ba. Wǒmen yìdiǎnr yě bú pà, tā huì juéde qíguài de.
Let him come and look. We aren't afraid at all, and that will puzzle him.
- Old Chen 可是我怕啊，先生！你看，我的手都在抖！
Kěshì wǒ pà a, xiānsheng! Nǐ kàn, wǒ de shǒu dōu zài dǒu!
But I am afraid, sir! Look, my hands are shaking!
- Zhuge Liang 那你就笑着扫地，像今天是过节一样。
Nà nǐ jiù xiào zhe sǎodì, xiàng jīntiān shì guòjié yíyàng.
Then sweep with a smile, as if today were a holiday.
- Old Chen 笑着扫地？哈哈哈……先生，我这样笑对吗？
Xiào zhe sǎodì? Hā hā hā… xiānsheng, wǒ zhèyàng xiào duì ma?
Sweep with a smile? Ha ha ha… sir, is this how I should smile?
- Zhuge Liang 很好，就是这样！不过，别笑得太大。
Hěn hǎo, jiù shì zhèyàng! Búguò, bié xiào de tài dà.
Very good, just like that! But not too big.
- Old Chen 那您呢，先生？您在哪儿？
Nà nín ne, xiānsheng? Nín zài nǎr?
And what about you, sir? Where will you be?
- Zhuge Liang 我要去城墙上，坐下来，弹琴。
Wǒ yào qù chéngqiáng shàng, zuò xiàlái, tán qín.
I'll go up on the wall, sit down, and play my zither.
- Old Chen 弹琴？那么多人要来打仗，您还要弹琴？
Tán qín? Nàme duō rén yào lái dǎzhàng, nín hái yào tán qín?
Play the zither? A huge army is coming to fight, and you want to play music?
- Zhuge Liang 对。如果我的手不抖，他就会想很多，不敢进来。
Duì. Rúguǒ wǒ de shǒu bù dǒu, tā jiù huì xiǎng hěn duō, bù gǎn jìnlái.
Yes. If my hands don't shake, he'll start thinking too much and won't dare come in.
- Old Chen 先生，您说得对……可是我还是有点儿怕。
Xiānsheng, nín shuō de duì… kěshì wǒ háishi yǒudiǎnr pà.
You're right, sir… but I'm still a little scared.
- Zhuge Liang 老陈，你听，他们来了。现在，笑起来！
Lǎo Chén, nǐ tīng, tāmen lái le. Xiànzài, xiào qǐlái!
Old Chen, listen, they're coming. Now, smile!
What changed in the story?
- What terrible news does the rider bring?
“马谡输了，街亭也没有了！”……“现在司马懿带着很多很多人，正往西城来！”
- Why is Old Chen worried?
“先生，我们只有几个老兵，这要怎么打仗？”
- What odd orders does Zhuge Liang give first?
“你们去城门口，把路扫得干干净净。”……“把城里所有的旗都放下来”
- What does Zhuge Liang tell Old Chen to do about his fear?
“那你就笑着扫地，像今天是过节一样。”
- What will Zhuge Liang do himself?
“我要去城墙上，坐下来，弹琴。”